This invention relates to a new and improved structure which facilitates the construction of an arch-shaped passageway and a method for constructing an arch-shaped passageway. This invention is particularly applicable to drywall construction in the housing construction industry.
Arch passageways, in general, undoubtedly date from earliest historic times. While the end product, i.e. arch-shaped passageway, cannot be characterized as novel, economic considerations dictate that the construction of arch-shaped passageways, which are now primarily constructed for aesthetic reasons, be accomplished by new and improved methods and/or new and improved materials and structures.
The patent literature contains many references to devices, structures, and methods for obtaining arch-shaped passageways. Much of the literature such as U.S. Pat. No. 2,442,929, No. 2,005,572, No. 1,782,147, and No. 1,979,701 is directed to arch passageway construction in conjunction with plaster/lath construction which has become largely obsolete. Other prior art such as U.S. Pat. No. 2,064,704 disclose an arch passageway construction which requires the assembling of a number of elements and is thus disadvantageous from the standpoint of labor costs. The deficiencies of the prior art primarily rest on the failure to provide arch passageway construction which is adaptable to mass construction techniques which minimize labor costs.
In general the present invention is an advancement over the prior art by virtue of the use of a relatively inexpensive unitary arch structure which can be installed quickly and easily and can be finished by conventional modern construction techniques.